Table 1.
Muc4 expression in primary tumors and metastatic lesions. NR, not reported; ICC, immunocytochemistry; IHC, immunohistochemistry; WB, western blotting.
| Cancer Type | Muc4 Expression Patterns (Primary Tumor) | Muc4 Expression Patterns (Metastases) | Correlation with Prognostic Factor or Disease Stage | Method of Detection | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breast Cancer | Expressed in 95% of primary breast tumors | NR | Muc4 expression correlates with tumor grade | IHC | (Rakha 2005) |
| Overexpressed in primary invasive triple-negative tumors compared to normal | NR | NR | IHC | (Mukhopadhyay 2013) | |
| Expressed in the majority of secretory carcinomas of the breast | No increased expression in metastatic lesions | NR | IHC | (Shet 2013) | |
| Decreased expression in primary tumor compared to patient-matched normal | Increased expression in patient-matched lymphnode metastases | NR | WB/IHC | (Workman 2009) | |
| Expressed in majority of patient breast cancer samples | NR | High frequency of Muc4 expression in malignant cells in body fluids | ICC | (Komatsu 1999) | |
| Highly expressed in invasive micropapillary carcinoma of the breast | NR | Muc4 expression correlates with shorter death free survival and poor response to standard of care | IHC | (Mercogliano 2017) | |
| Aerodigestive Tract Squamous Cell Cancer | Expressed in primary tumors | Expression persists in metastatic lesions | No correlation with patient prognosis | ICC/WB | (Weed 2001) |
| Ovarian Cancer | Overexpressed in primary tumor compared to normal tissue | NR | No correlation with patient survival | IHC | (Chauhan 2006) |
| Pancreatic Cancer | Overexpressed in primary tumor compared to normal tissue | NR | NR | IHC | (Mimeault 2013) |
| Expressed in primary tumors | NR | Muc4 expression correlates with disease progression | IHC | (Kaur 2014) | |
| Lung Cancer | Highly expressed in primary tumor | Decreased expression in lymph node metastases | Correlates with risk of lymph node metastasis | WB | (Gao 2014) |
| Glioblastoma | Upregulated in tumor compared to normal tissue | NR | NR | WB/IHC | (Li 2014) |
| Cervical Cancer | Overexpressed in primary tumor compared to normal tissue | NR | Strongly associated with lymph node metastases | IHC/gene microarray | (Xu 2017) |
| Cholangiocarcinoma | Expressed in "columnar type" primary tumors | NR | No correlation with patient prognosis | IHC | (Shibahara 2004b) |
| Overexpressed in intrahepatic type compared to normal tissue | NR | Correlates with patient prognosis | IHC | (Shibahara 2004a) |